


A Realistic, Yet Tolerable Glee Reboot

by marrymedianna



Category: Glee
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Reboot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24958630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marrymedianna/pseuds/marrymedianna
Summary: Ryan Murphy's idea for a Glee Reboot was terrible. Like absolute trash. This is my version of a Glee Reboot that is relatively realistic, but I also wouldn't hate watching.
Relationships: Artie Abrams/Original Character(s), Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel, Mike Chang/Tina Cohen-Chang, Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray, Sam Evans/Mercedes Jones, Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	1. Author's Note

Just some basic stuff before I start posting the actual chapters.

I honestly don't really think Glee should get a reboot, but when Ryan Murphy posted his idea it got me thinking about what I would want the reboot to look like. And apparently I have enough opinions to actually write one. However, I'm gonna warn you guys, I haven't written a fanfic since haylor (swifties know whats up) was a thing...so it might not be great, but I promise to try my best.

I hope you guys like it! First chapter will be up very soon.


	2. Episode 1-Can't Top Don't Stop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you don't know the songs in the chapter, it might be helpful to listen to them or look at the lyrics so I'll put the songs here:
> 
> "When We Were Young"-Adele  
> "Blame It On the Boogie"-The Jacksons  
> "Don't Start Now"-Dua Lipa  
> "3 Nights"-Dominic Fike  
> "All Love"-Fletcher  
> "Baba O'Riley"-The Who

Rachel Berry, while admittedly being a dramatic individual, didn’t often think of herself as nostalgic. When she finally left Lima for good after leading the New Directions to a Nationals win, she truly left it in her past, only returning to Lima to visit her parents for the holidays. She used to also return on the anniversary of Finn’s passing, but even that became hard to maintain after over ten years.

She still kept in contact with most of the original New Directions. Obviously Kurt and Blaine have remained her best friends in New York and they have dinner together as often as they can. Santana took over as Rachel’s manager after her return to the big apple when she threatened a director into getting Rachel her first audition after her failure on TV. She really took to the job and has since become Blaine’s manager as well as many other rising and current Broadway stars. Needless to say, Rachel gets her daily dose of the Latina which comes with the perk of also seeing Brittany regularly. She also happened to be the godmother of both the couple’s oldest children (Kurt and Blaine only had on, their daughter Liza, while Santana and Brittany had three). She does her best with the rest of the OG members, texting in their group chat as often as she can, but many she hasn’t seen in person in a few years.

However, that was all about to change. She can hardly believe it’s been fifteen years since graduation. It makes her feel incredibly old. While the actual reunion wasn’t for a few weeks, Sam invited all the New Directions to come back early as he, as the current director, needed some help with this year’s team. The show choir had been raking in National’s trophies since Rachel had won with them. That is until last year when, in a shocking turn of events, the team only placed second. It had really thrown the school for a loop and if they didn’t win this year, Sam feared he may lose his job. So naturally, they all agreed to come down early and help in any way they could. Today was the day they were all planning on meeting up and attending one of the show choir’s practices to get a feel of what they were working with.

Rachel took a deep breath as she pulled into a visitor’s parking spot outside her alma mater. She smiled while looking at the school before preparing to turn her car off. As she was about to turn the key she found herself jumping in shock instead.

“I know you were not just about to turn off Adele” Santana said smirking with Brittany standing by her right outside the diva’s open window, “This song is almost too fitting.”

Rachel smiled and turned the music up louder before getting out of her car and hugging the two girls, “You know I’m a sucker for a reunion with a musical element.”

Santana pulls back from the hug and begins to sing the opening line with Adele.

“Everbody loves the things you do  
From the way you talk  
To the way you move”

Brittany took over for her wife on the next few lines.

“Everybody here is watching you  
Cause you feel like home  
You’re like a dream come true”

Rachel smiles widely at the two women before taking her turn and singing the end of the verse. As she prepares to sing the next chorus, Mercedes suddenly walks up and takes over for her. Rachel smiles and embraces the woman before she moves on to hugging both Santana and Brittany. 

A new voice then appears for the second verse. Rachel glances over to see Quinn Fabray singing and approaching the group followed closely by Kurt and Blaine.

“I was so scared to face my fears  
Nobody told me that you’d be here  
And I swear you moved overseas  
That’s what you said, when you left me”

Quinn locks eyes with Rachel during the last line and moves to hug the woman as Blaine and Kurt take over for the next chorus.

Mike, Tina, and Artie then begin walking towards the small group smiling widely. The three of them split the bridge of the song in between hugging their friends.

Rachel then takes over again for the last verse as everyone else sings backup (pretty much mimicking every song they ever did in glee club).

They all smile and look at one another as the song finishes and a relaxed energy settles among them.

“Fifteen years,” Kurt starts, “Its official. We’re old.”

“Hey, hey, some of us still have another year to feel relatively young.” Tina says as everyone laughs.

“As cute as that whole moment was, can we all acknowledge that that was super fucking weird.” Santana quips looking around her, “I really hope no one saw that.”

“It was weird, but I can’t really imagine a reunion between all of us that doesn’t start with us singing.” Quinn smiles lightly and putting an arm around Mercedes and Brittany respectively.

“Very true. We’re a pretty weird group.” Mike says laughing.

“Speaking of which, I’m pretty curious to see Sam’s kids sing. How did they lose last year?” Blaine says from his spot in between Kurt and Tina.

“I have no clue, but they must suck some serious ass if they go to a performing arts high school and can’t win a stupid show choir competition.” Santana says bluntly.

“It’s a good thing we’re here to help then” Artie says, “No one can top Don’t Stop.”

Everyone laughs as they begin to walk towards the theater. They find themselves stopping to stand outside the door and all take a moment to look at Finn’s name written above the doorframe.

“Ready?” Mike asks everyone after a moment as he moves to open the door. Everyone nods and walks into the theater they once frequented.

They all make it a few steps before stopping to watch the stage where it seems the current New Direction’s are about to begin a number.

The lights go up on the stage as the beginning to “Blame It On the Boogie” by The Jacksons begins to play. The kids are dancing perfectly in sync all dressed in the classic Michael Jackson look of tight pants, shiny jackets and matching fedoras. The OG’s are all immediately impressed by the dance that was significantly more complex than anything they’d done. They, however, chose to remain the air of being unimpressed until a boy and a girl in the front of the stage step up from the fold.

“My baby’s always dancin’  
And it wouldn’t be a bad thing  
But I don’t get no lovin’  
And that’s no lie”

The boy takes the first set of lines and spins the girl as they dance together. Rachel notes their chemistry is palpable and the both look at ease on stage with each other. She also notes the boy’s voice and breath control are impeccable and fit the song perfectly.

“We spent the night in Frisco  
At every kind of disco  
From that night I kissed our love goodbye”

The girl takes this set of lines as all the kids continue to move in perfect sync leading into the chorus. The dance for the chorus is obviously Sam-influenced if their hip thrusting is anything to go by. Rachel is happy to see that despite that, the dance is still tasteful given the kids’ ages which can’t be said for many of their old glee numbers.

Another boy and girl step up for the next verses. Rachel can tell that while these two kids are incredible and don’t miss a beat, the first two are obviously the main stars of the group. They lead into the rest of the song with the first two kids retaking their spot as the leads of the song.

As the number finishes the kids all moonwalk and end in Jackson-esque poses perfectly timed to the end of the music. All of the original New Directions’ members stand with their jaws on the floor still staring at the stage as Sam’s voice rings out over the mic.

“Alright guys, not bad. We definitely still have a lot of work to do. Mason you were off a half beat during the chorus again and a few of you were still a little sharp during the bridge. Take five for now.” Sam is sitting in the director’s chair halfway up the auditorium.

The original glee members look at one another in shock after finally picking their jaws up off the floor.

“Needs work? That was like ten million times better than any number we ever did.” Santana says begrudgingly. The rest of her friends nod in agreement as they all notice Sam running towards them with a smile on his face.

“Guys! I’m so glad you made it!” Sam says pulling Quinn into a hug before kissing Mercedes cheek briefly, “I’m just sorry you had to see them perform on such an off day.”

“Off day? Sam they were incredible!” Tina says shocked while the rest of the group nods along.

Sam shakes his head and rubs his neck, “Show choir has changed a lot since we went here. You have to be better than perfect to win and my varsity New Directions need to win this year.”

“Varsity?” Kurt asks confused.

“Yeah. The National Show Choir Committee split everyone into divisions a couple years back. Now there’s a frosh/soph team, a JV team, and a varsity team. I coach varsity.”

“Yes and you’re great at it and we’re here to help you make sure they win this year,” Mercedes says putting her arm around his waist, “You’re gonna get an ulcer if you keep worrying this much. We got this.”

“Definitely! I mean I don’t know how much help they need, but we’re going to do our bests.” Rachel says smiling and looking around.

Sam goes to say something else when he is interrupted by the lead girl who had been on stage a few minutes ago runs up to them.

“Q!” The girl embraces Quinn who smiles softly and hugs back, “I thought you weren’t getting in until tomorrow morning!”

“My meeting was cancelled so I caught an earlier flight. I’m happy I did. You were incredible up there kid.” Quinn says as they both pull back from the hug and she ruffles the girl’s hair. The girl blushes slightly and mumbles a quick thank you before looking up at the many confused faces on the adults around her.

Noting her friends’ confusion, Rachel chuckles softly before deciding to enlighten them, “Hey Beth!”

“Hey Rach” Beth replies easily before looking at Santana and Brittany and greeting them as well.

“Beth, can you go tell everyone to head to the choir room? We’ll finish up in there so I can introduce everyone.” Sam says to the girl.

“Sure thing Evdog.” Sam rolls his eyes fondly as Beth goes to turn away before looking at Quinn, “Q, you coming for dinner tonight then?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” Quinn replies easily. Beth smiles at her before running back to her friends.

“Oh my god. Talk about feeling old, that’s Beth?” Kurt asks in shock looking around the group.

“Yup. She’s a junior this year.” Quinn says glancing back at her friends with an easy smile.

“I don’t know how I didn’t recognize her immediately. She looks just like you, Quinn.” Tina regards as Quinn laughs and nods slightly.

“I thought Shelby moved to New York?” Artie asks suddenly before looking up to see Rachel, Sam, and Santana giving him a death glare.

“They-uh, they moved back to Lima after Puck passed.” Quinn says softly looking intently at a spot on the ground. Puck had passed just over three years ago and while he and Quinn had been broken up for years by that point, the two were still close and everyone knew it was a touchy subject.

They all shuffles awkwardly until Sam puts his arm on Quinn’s back and begins, “So you guys ready to meet the new New Directions?”

——————————

“Old directions.” Sam says as he spins around from having written just that on the board in the choir room that, surprisingly, hadn’t changed all that much since 2009. The kids are all changed back into their regular clothes and sit on one side of the risers while the adult sit on the other.

“Thirty-four is really not that old.” Kurt grumbles from his spot next to Blaine.

“I mean it more like we’re looking back at past directions. As everyone in here knows, last year was the first time since 2015 that we didn’t win Nationals. So this year we have to do everything we can to get our spot back as reigning National champions.”

“Easy money. This year we have the only good people from last year’s team and all us juniors who helped the JV team to another Nationals win. We got it in the bag.” A girl sitting next to Beth says smirking while both Beth and the girl on her other side high five her.

“While I hope you’re right, Bec. We can’t get too cocky. We have to be perfect. Better than perfect actually,” Sam says determinedly, “Which is why I brought in the best people I could think of to help. Sitting amongst you guys right now are the members of the first McKinley Glee Club to win a National Championship.”

The new kids look around curiously taking stock of the adult’s sitting around them.

“They’ve kindly agreed to give up their time to help us and we’re going to use that to our advantage,” Sam says clapping his hands together from where he stands in front of everyone, “I’m going to make introductions quick because you’re all going to have plenty of time to get to know one another.”

Everyone nods as Sam begins, “So with us is three-time Tony winner Rachel Berry, fashion-expert Kurt Hummel, New York Times Best-Seller Quinn Fabray, talent manager Santana Lopez-Pierce, Tony winner Blaine Anderson, actress Tina Cohen-Chang, Sundance Film Fest winner Artie Abrams, killer dancers Brittany Lopez-Pierce and Mike Chang, and, of course, you guys know my wife, six-time Grammy winner Mercedes Jones.”

All the adults smile and wave as their name is introduced.

“Okay, so now that that’s over. I was thinking we could divide into girls and guys and the kids can each do a number so that we all know what we’re working with.” Sam rushes out looking at everyone, “Alright, boys in the auditorium, girls in the choir room. Disperse young padawans.”

Sam then heads out of the room with all the other boys following behind him. Once they’ve all left, the girls look at each other for a moment before Rachel again steps up to break the awkward tension.

“Well its lovely to meet all you and I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re very excited to see what you guys can do. But first, do you guys mind introducing yourselves?” Rachel asks looking at the younger girls.

“I’ll go first!” An excited looking Hispanic girl says almost jumping out of her seat, “My names Camila and I’m such a huge fan of yours Ms. Berry! I look forward to working with you! Oh! And I’m a junior.”

“I look forward to working with you as well.” Rachel smiles a little smugly as Santana rolls her eyes and mumbles something that sounds mysteriously like ‘midget 2.0’.

“Chill out there, hard-ass. We all know you’re a berry big fan, no need to give yourself a heart attack.” One of the older looking girls says as all the other girls chuckle. Camila pouts and looks indignant, but nonetheless sits back in her seat. “I’m Zoe and I’m a senior. I was on the team last year and in no way do I want to relive that so I’m really grateful you guys are here.”

A black girl sitting next to her nods and begins, “I’m Madison and I’m the other senior so I’m also really glad you guys are here.”

“I’m Riley and I’m a junior.” A brunette, white girl says quietly from the back where she’s sitting next to Camila. She had been trying to comfort Camila after Zoe’s previous remark.

The three remaining girls glance at each other before the one Sam had identified as Bec starts, “Bec, junior.” She says easily leaning back in her seat.

The black girl next to her then smiles and states, “I’m Ari and I’m a junior. Thanks for coming to help out.”

All eyes then turn to Beth who turns to face all the adults again, “And I’m Beth, junior.”

“Awesome! Well it’s nice to meet you all! Do you have anything prepared?” Rachel says donning her overbearing stage smile.

“Yeah I think we got something,” Beth says confidently standing as the girls around her also begin to walk to the front of the room, “You guys know what do.” She say quickly to the band.

The girls all then turn with their backs to the adults in the room as the band begins to play “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa.

The girls harmonize in the beginning until Beth turns around with the first line of the song.

“Did a full 180, crazy  
Thinking bout the way I was.”

Ari then turns around with the next few lines.

“Did the heartbreak change me? Maybe  
But look at where I ended up”

Bec then joins the other two girls, turning around and singing the next set of lines.

“I’m all good already  
So moved on, its scary  
I’m not where you left me at all, so”

They continue in that pattern of switching off singing every few lines with the other girls adding in during the choruses while dancing with the song all perfectly in time. The song finishes and again the adults find themselves with their jaws wide open in shock at how impressive the number was. 

The girls in front smirk and look at one another. Beth is in the middle with Ari and Bec on either side, eerily reminding Rachel of another certain trio.

“Jesus you guys are good.” Santana says once she gains her bearings. The other women in the room nod and agree, save from Ms. Berry herself.

“While that was certainly a strong performance, I can’t help, but feel there’s something missing.” Rachel says looking thoughtfully.

“What? We killed that.” Madison says as the other girls nod along with her. Beth rolls her eyes and puffs out a breath before looking back at Rachel.

“Rachel, that was flawless.” Mercedes says immediately.

“Yeah, what could possibly be missing?” Tina asks looking at Rachel with trepidation.

“It was great seriously!” Rachel says holding her hands up in mock surrender, “There’s just something that wasn’t quite there.”

“I told you guys we should’ve changed the harmony in the chorus!” Camila shouts crossing her arms across her chest as all the girls roll their eyes reminiscent of the way the adults in the room used to roll their eyes at their own resident diva.

——————————

Meanwhile in the auditorium, the high school boys all gather on the stage while Sam and the other adults sit in the audience in front of them.

“Do you guys want to introduce yourselves really quick?” Sam asks looking up at the kids, “Jayden, you want to start?”

The tall, black boy who had been singing lead with Beth in the earlier number steps forward, “Sure. I’m Jayden and I’m a junior. Super pumped to have you guys here.”

A slightly taller, white boy then steps forward to introduce himself, “I’m Mason, junior.”

The two slightly older looking kids step up next to introduce themselves.

“I’m James and I’m a senior. Excited to learn from you guys.” The first boy says.

“I’m the other senior, Matt.” The second boy says smiling. Kurt and Blaine glance at each other each noting some pings on their gaydar with Matt.

The last two boys then look at each other until the taller, asian boy decides to go first, “I’m Nick and I’m a junior.”

“I’m Christian and I’m a junior, too.” The last boy says.

“Which song do you guys want to do?” Sam asks.

“We were thinking ‘3 Nights’” Jayden responds as Nick and Mason go to grab some acoustic guitars from backstage. Sam nods at the song choice and after the boys return from getting their guitars, they begin to play the opening to “3 Nights” by Dominic Fike.

Jayden takes the lead on the first chorus with back up harmony from the other guys in the group as he dances easily to the song. James takes over for the rapping on the verse flawlessly as the song continues.

“Damn, they’re actually good at rapping.” Artie finds himself whispering to Mike who nods without taking his eyes off the performance on stage.

The song continues with the boys switching off on different parts and dancing without looking over choreographed. The men in the crowd find themselves in the same position as their female counterparts, staring at the stage in awe.

“That was like insanely good,” Blaine says.

“You guys pulled off rapping,” Artie states, obviously impressed, “I didn’t know a show choir could do that without looking at least a little like fools.”

The boys on stage laugh and smile at the praise aimed their way.

“It was good, guys” Sam states leaning forward in his seat, “Still not there yet, but definitely good.”

The adults in the audience glance at each other incredulously wondering what could possibly be improved on.

————————-

Later that night, Rachel finds herself walking into a bar in town to meet up with her fellow glee club alum. They had finished up with practice not long after the kids’ performances and had all agreed to meet at the local hang-out that night. Rachel had gone to have dinner at her father, Hiram’s, and had found herself exhausted by his many questions both about her personal life and her other father. The two had had a primarily amicable divorce, but didn’t talk to one another and did most of their communicating through their daughter, much to Rachel’s chargin. She was happy to have somewhere to go and even happier to get a chance to really catch up with her ex-classmates, specifically one in particular.  
Rachel doesn’t really know how it took her so long to realize her fascination with Quinn Fabray might’ve been more than simply a strong desire to be her friend. As someone who grew up with two gay dads, she figured she’d have a better gaydar (especially concerning herself), but, alas, she knew now. She hadn’t kept up with Quinn much in recent years and was curious to know what the woman was up to, but she didn’t have high hopes for a romance between the two. It had been too long and there were other, uh-complications so to speak.  
When Rachel enters the bar, she instantly hears her name being called and looks to find all of her friends at table in the corner, save for Quinn. She waves and signals she’s going to get a drink at the bar. Once she receives her signature Long Island ice tea, she approaches her friends’ table and takes a seat in between Kurt and Santana.

“So can we talk about how good those kids are?” Tina says leaning froward from her spot next to Mike, “Sam, you guys are totally gonna win this year.”

Everyone nods as Sam shakes his head, “I hope so, but that’s what I thought last year. Can’t afford to get cocky.”

“Sam, they’re great and you’ve got a whole team of people here to help them get even better,” Mercedes says as the rest of the group nods with her, “But enough about the kids. We’re here to catch up so I want to hear about you guys!”

“Yes, definitely! Mike, Tina how’s LA?” Rachel quips after taking a sip from her drink.

“Good! I actually just finished filming a season for a new Netflix show so hopefully it’ll be picked up for another. Mike’s studio has been doing really well so he’s been able to take some time off to watch Abby.” Tina says.

“Never thought I’d be happy being a stay at home Dad, but that kid is just so damn cute.” Mike says smiling widely.

“Dude that is so sappy.” Sam says chuckling and shaking his head as much of the group aws.

“Don’t act like you don’t love having lightsaber battles with Jackson and Haley,” Mercedes says hitting her husband on the arm, “I think you actually have more fun than them.”

“Are we talking about Samson being a child?” Quinn asks having just walked up to the table with a drink in hand and her hand on the back of a pretty, brunette woman. The whole table turns to look at the new arrival and many look curiously at the woman next to her, specifically where Quinn’s hand was resting.

“Lots of adults like Star Wars, Quinnieas,” Sam says rolling his eyes, “Besides, I seem to remember you joining in on a few of those epic battles.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Quinn says shaking her head and sitting down next to Sam after pulling the chair out for the woman next to her, “By the way guys, this is my girlfriend, Rose.”

Half the table looks at the women in shock as Rose nods politely at all of them. Rachel splutters on her drink and Kurt begins to pat her back lightly.  
“Oh, please. Don’t act so shocked,” Santana starts leaning forward, “Q, was obviously repressed as hell in high school and after if Biff was anything to go by.”

Quinn rolls her eyes fondly at the Latina and cracks a smile.

“Quinn was a total pressed lemon in high school” Brittany nods taking a sip from her drink. There’s a pause for a moment before Quinn and Santana burst into laughter prompting everyone else to join them.

“Babe, there has never been a truer statement.” Santana says once her laughter dies down, “Anyways, it’s nice to meet you, Rose. You seem a lot less crazy than Q’s last girlfriend so I approve.”

Quinn rolls her eyes yet again and puts her arm around Rose’s chair who smiles, “It’s nice to meet you guys, too! Quinn’s told me a lot about all of you.”

The table resumes normal conversation after Rose’s introduction and the group catches up on everything from their jobs to other former classmates (a solid amount of time was spent obsessing over Unique’s new album) to the children many of them now had. Some of the adults began to head to the bar to get refills while the rest enter their own conversations.

“So, Q-ball, how was dinner with the Bethster?” Sam asks. Rachel finds herself tuning out her current conversation with Kurt and Santana about the many fashion faux paus at the Tony awards that year at Sam’s words.

“Good! It’s always fun to hear what the munchkin is up to. Speaking of which, remind me to have a talk with that Jayden kid. Apparently they’re dating and there is no way I’m letting Beth become a teen parent. But, she seemed to like Rose.” Quinn says glancing up at said woman who was currently standing at the bar laughing at something with Artie and Mercedes. 

“You guys must be pretty serious if you introduced her to the kid.” Sam says also glancing up at the woman at the bar. Rachel finds herself sighing while trying to keep her gaze away from the two holding the conversation she was eavesdropping on.

“I guess, yeah,” Quinn says looking back towards Sam and taking a sip from her whiskey on the rocks, “She’s a little clingy though. I actually didn’t really plan on having her come with me, but when she found out she insisted she wanted to ‘see where I grew up’”

“That’s nice, Q. It means she likes you,” Sam says slowly mocking the woman, “When are you gonna stop trying to find something wrong with every girl you date?”

“I don’t try to find something wrong,” Quinn says before muttering something else to Sam that Rachel can’t quite make out.

“Q, you can’t keep comparing every girl to her or you’re never gonna find someone. Rose is great, don’t write her off.” Sam says putting an arm on Quinn’s shoulder. Rachel quirks her eyebrow before quickly schooling her expression.

“Okay, what is up with you midget?” Santana says suddenly catching Rachel’s attention, “You never pass up on an opportunity to trash your competitors’ fashion sense. What gives?”

“For once, I agree with Santana,” Kurt says looking at Rachel with a curious expression, “You’ve been acting off like all night.”  
“Well, at least since Q-“

Rachel interrupts the Latina before she can continue, and blurts “Jesse and I are getting divorced.”

“Holy shit, Rachel. What?” Kurt asks looking shocked.

“I mean can’t say I’m surprised.” Santana mutters before Kurt punches her on the shoulder, “Sorry, I meant to ask if you’re-uh okay. That sucks, Rach.”

Rachel takes a deep breath before looking at her two best friends, “No, you’re right. Things have been off between us for a while and looking back I really think we just got married out of convenience. I honestly am surprised we lasted this long.”

“How’s Jesse taking it?” Kurt asks rubbing circles on Rachel’s shoulder.

“If he’s being an ass, I will go all Lima-heights on him. Just give me the word.”

Rachel smiles fondly at the Latina. Its times like this where she really can’t believe how far the two had come. Fifteen years ago she never would have guessed Santana Lopez would be offering to beat someone up for her. It was sweet, in a very Santana way, “No, no. He’s been nice about it. I think we both knew it was coming. I just hope we can find a way to remain friends.”

“I’m sure you will.” Kurt says.

“So, a single Rachel Berry? This could be fun. I bet I could find you a hot rebound if you let me.” Santana says smirking as Kurt looks at her disapprovingly.

“I-uh, I actually have my eye on someone,” Rachel says glancing quickly at Quinn who had moved to stand at the bar with Rose, “Though they’re not quite so available.”

“Rachel, I swear to god if the word Brody comes out of your mouth, I wil-“ Santana says leaning back in her chair.

“Oh god no. Never again,” Rachel says shaking her head to rid herself of the thought of her ex, “Look, I’ll tell you guys if you promise not to make a big deal because nothing is ever going to happen between us and I really don’t want things to be awkward an-“

“It’s Quinn.” Santana says easily looking directly at Rachel

“How’d you-“

“Oh, please,” Santana starts crossing her arms over her chest, “You guys have been in love with each other since she was in a cheerio’s uniform tossing slushies in your face.”

“Yeah, I have to say you guys have always had tension,” Kurt says nodding, “And you know what they say about love and hate.”

“I can’t believe you guys knew! I didn’t even know!” Rachel says crossing her arms indignantly.

“C’mon Rach. We’re your best friends. Of course we knew.” Santana says taking a softer tone as Kurt nods and puts his hand over Rachel’s.

“Well, what the hell am I supposed to do about it. I mean I didn’t even know she was interested in girls and I find out by her bringing her girlfriend to our reunion.” Rachel says letting out a breath she hadn’t even known she was holding.

“For starters, you need a better gaydar and it’s a good thing you have two gay best friends to help you out with that. For now though, we get drunk and you have fun with your friends.” Santana says looking between Kurt and Rachel. Kurt nods and smiles softly as the beginning notes of Fletcher’s “All Love” begin to play in the bar.

Rachel looks back towards Quinn as Fletcher voice begins to sing the opening lines. In her head, she imagines herself getting up from her seat as the song progresses and moving to stand behind Quinn and Rose as they laugh and talk with their friends. She sings the lines directly at Quinn, the whole world moving around her not even noticing as she sings.

As the song finishes, Rachel’s vision does as well. She looks up at Quinn one last time before grabbing a drink that Santana hands her and chooses to enjoy her time with her friends for the moment.

An hour later finds all the New Directions back sitting at their table, some noticeably drunker. Most were laughing together at a story Mercedes was telling about one of her run-ins with a certain bitchy celebrity.

Rachel turns towards Quinn and decides to strike up a conversation with the girl, “Quinn, I have to say Beth is extraordinarily talented. You must be proud.”

Quinn smiles easily at Rachel and finishes taking a sip of her drink before responding, “She really is. I mean I give all of the credit to Shelby, we both know I was always a bit sharp.”

Rachel cringes at being reminded of her high school self’s past comments as Quinn laughs lightly, “You have a lovely voice, Quinn. Regardless of what I may or may not have said in high school.”

“Well, thank you,” Quinn says smiling, “I should tell you I was at Shelby’s earlier and I might have mentioned you were in town. She seemed surprised so I’m sorry if I put you in a tough spot.”

“No harm done,” Rachel says, “I was planning on stopping by to see her soon anyways. As I assume you know, we reconciled before they moved back here so I’m looking forward to seeing her.”

“So I’ve heard. Beth told me all about meeting her famous ‘kind of big sister’ when she was six. I think she told her entire school, too. She was certainly excited” Quinn chuckles.

Rachel smiles before grimacing slighlty, “I have a feeling that sentiment was short lived.”

“I don’t think she dislikes you,” Quinn adds sympathetically, “But she’s a teenager so she’s uh-prickly.”

“Prickly?” Rachel says laughing, “Are you comparing Beth to a cactus?”

“More like a rose I think,” Quinn says laughing at her choice of words, “She may have her thorns, but she’s got heart.”

Rachel looks thoughtfully at Quinn before nodding, “That she does.”

They both tune back into the main conversation as a familiar song begins to play in the bar. The table erupts into a mix of groaning and excitement as they all recognize the song.

“I swear if I never hear this song again, it’d be too soon.” Santana says rolling her eyes as half the table nods with her.

“Oh c’mon. You know you want to sing it.” Artie says laughing.

As the song gets to the first verse, Sam stands up to scream the lyrics.

“Just a small town girl  
Living in a lonely world  
She took the midnight train going anywhere”

By the chorus everyone is up and singing along as the other bar-goers look at the group with a mix of annoyance and bemusement. They take over the bar and sing along for the entirety of the song in various states of inebriation. As it ends, Rachel looks at all her friends and smiles before something hits her.

“Heart,” She exclaims, “Thats what your team is missing Sam. They’re too perfect. They need heart.”

“Oh my god! Rachel Berry, you’re a genius!” Sam says immediately rushing to write it in his phone. Rachel then catches Quinn’s eye as she smiles conspiratorially at her.

———————

The next day, Rachel finds herself standing outside of the Corcoran house. She wasn’t lying when she said she and Shelby had made up. It had taken time and a lot of therapy, but they were now at a point where they kept up with each other regularly. When they lived in New York, Shelby and Beth came to many of her shows and she would occasionally go visit them at their apartment. Beth and her had a more tumultuous relationship, which was understandable given Beth’s mom was Rachel’s biological mother and Rachel had gone to high school with Beth’s biological mother. It was quite the mouthful.

Rachel knocked on the door and was greeted by Shelby opening it only moments later. 

“Rachel! It’s so good to see you!” Shelby says hugging the diva and inviting her inside, “Are you going to tell me why I had to hear you’re in town from Quinn?

“I was hoping to surprise you, but it seems Quinn got to you first.” Rachel says.

Shelby invites Rachel in and grabs both of them a cup of coffee before they sit together and begin to catch up. Shelby loved to hear all about Rachel’s experiences on Broadway, especially since their move to Lima. It was the first thing they bonded over and remained a strong and easy conversation topic for the duo.

“Is Beth here?” Rachel finds herself asking after just finishing describing a complex number in her last show.  
“No, I believe she’s out with her boyfriend right now” Shelby says putting particular emphasis on the word boyfriend.

“Do you approve of this new boyfriend?” Rachel asks.

“He’s honestly a great guy and he seems to be good to Beth, too,” Shelby says smiling, “He’s actually on the New Directions with her so you probably saw him at practice. He was probably the male lead in whatever number they did. He’s a really talented kid.”

“If he’s the one I’m thinking of then you’re right. His breath control while dancing was especially impressive.” Rachel says nodding.

“Yeah, he definitely could have a future in music. Who knows? They could be the next Rachel Berry and Jesse St. James.”

Rachel winces, “About that. Um-Jesse and I are actually getting a divorce.”

Shelby looks stunned before responding, “Oh Rach, I’m so-“

“You and the douchemuffin are getting divorced?” Beth says having just walked into the room after arriving home. She looks at Rachel with what looks like optimism.

“Beth! Don’t call him that!” Shelby admonishes looking at Beth.

“What? He’s kinda the worst.” Beth says easily shrugging her shoulders.

“While I don’t really agree with that statement, yes. We’re getting divorced.” Rachel says looking between the two.

“Good for yo-Ow!” Beth says as her mom hits her on the shoulder lightly, “Sorry, that must suck Rachel.”

Rachel just nods and smiles slightly, “Its okay. It was a long time coming. On a lighter note, I’m excited to be working with you guys, Beth! The other adults and I were talking last night and we think we have a good starting point for the next practice.”

“Dope.” Beth says disinterestedly before turning to grab something from the fridge.

“I think it’s so great you’re here helping them. They’re going to be incredible once you’re through with them.” Shelby says excitedly.

Rachel sees Beth roll her eyes in a way that is eerily Fabray-ic before responding carefully, “Well we have a great group to work with, but I’m excited to give them some pointers.”

—————

“So me and the other adults talked over the weekend and we figured out what we need to work on if we want to win Nationals this year!” Sam says excitedly as the current and former New Directions all sit on the risers in the choir room, “Rachel, do you want to do the honors?”

“Well, I heard a song we used to sing when we were in glee club and it took me back.” Rachel says looking at the students, “It made me realize how we even won Nationals. Heart.”

“We had so much drama going on back then and so every song we sang we poured every emotion we were feeling into it.” Kurt adds.

“Whether we were singing a Broadway classic or a Salt-N-Pepa song, we gave it everything we had.” Mercedes says.

“Oh especially Salt-N-Pepa.” Artie adds as the adults laugh and shudder at the memory.

“So while you guys are great and your performances were flawless, they were missing the raw emotion and feeling.” Blaine says as the former glee members nod.

“If you guys can ace the feelings aspect, you’ll be unstoppable.” Quinn finishes .

“Exactly,” Sam says, “I think we found a great song to start with, too. You guys know the national show choir committee rule about only singing songs from 2020 or before so it’s a little old, but I think you’ll like it.”

“I swear to God if you guys make us sing Journey.” Beth deadpans.

“Its not Journey I promise.” Sam says and smiles.

——————

All the adults sit in the auditorium seats as the lights go up on the stage in front of them to show the New Directions. The band begins to play the opening to “Baba O’Riley” by The Who.

Beth steps forward for the first lines.

“Out here in the fields  
I fight for my meals  
I get my back into my living”

Jayden then steps up next to her

“I don’t need to fight  
To prove I’m right  
I don’t need to be forgiven”

All of the kids start to move in perfect synchronization as the song continues. They each find a way to feature in the song, showcasing their strengths. As the song comes to a close, the kids all scream out to the last lines.

“Teenage wasteland  
It's only teenage wasteland  
Teenage wasteland  
Oh yeah, teenage wasteland  
They're all wasted!”

As the song finishes, the adults all stand and clap taken back to their own days by the performance.

“Now that’s a performance!” Sam yells.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is rough. I'm not a great fiction writer I just kinda wanted to get this out there so it can stop living in my head. The coming chapters will have a lot more actual stuff happening. This is basically just an introduction to all the new characters.
> 
> Also just for fun, if I could fancast some of the new kids:  
> Beth-Diana Silvers  
> Bec-Billie Eilish  
> Ari-Willow Smith  
> Jayden-Zion Kuwonu (heard he might be shitty, but he fits the look I imagined)  
> Mason-like a Frankie Jonas vibe  
> Nick-Ross Butler


End file.
